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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Mt. Carrigain, NH
Trails
Trails: Bushwhack, Sawyer River Road, Signal Ridge Trail
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Friday, March 6, 2015
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: Plowed parking for a dozen or more vehicles at the winter parking area at the junction of Sawyer River Road and Route 302. 
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment: Snowshoes, Light Traction 
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: All are frozen over or if not, easily negotiated. On the bushwhack (old Signal Ridge Trail) that is south of the beaver pond and bypasses the junction with the Carrigain Notch Trail, the main water crossing is frozen but the ice is a bit thin -- use the ice-covered rocks. On the actual Signal Ridge Trail (re-route from a few years ago) that intersects the Carrigain Notch Trail north of the beaver pond, the water crossing is open but easily negotiated on exposed rock (and water levels are low, anyway). See comments section, below. 
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: Several duck-under blowdowns -- all easily negotiated -- on the Signal Ridge Trail after the trail begins to climb into softwoods. A bow saw would take care of most of these; a couple would require a bigger saw or might not even be an issue after the snow pack melts. 
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes:  
Bugs
Bugs:  
Lost and Found
Lost and Found:  
 
Comments
Comments: A stellar day on this trail and mountain, with barely a breeze and clear, blue skies.

The route to the summit is in excellent shape -- with a couple of bushwhacks as options.

At parking area, well-packed bushwhack route heads toward the Sawyer River and follows it, parallelling the road, re-joining it about 1.1 miles from the trailhead. The bushwhack is scenic, but is about 0.2 miles longer (and with a section of duck-under blowdowns that could tiresome at day's end) than taking only Sawyer River Road (which is packed out by snowmobiles and fast-moving, too).

About two miles in on the Signal Ridge Trail, near the beaver pond and where the old intersection with the Carrigain Notch Trail used to be, most people have taken the old trail corridor (to the left), instead of the new trail (marked by small sign with arrow, to the right). Doing so saves about 0.3 miles. Both options are packed out, so on the way in we took the bushwack and on the way back, the new trail -- although longer, it's far more interesting/scenic and the water crossing less of an issue as temps warm and any bridged ice thaws out.

First half of trail is packed powder and spike-able early in the day before the sun hits it. After that, all the way to the summit, trail is a few inches of unconsolidated powder on top of a base, and snowshoes were the footwear of choice, especially on drifted sections up high.

As other posters on this site have indicated, within about 50 yards of the summit the snowshoe track splits -- stay right to summit, go left to visit the clearing where the fire warden's cabin used to be.  
Name
Name: Pancks and Tesco Heaney 
E-Mail
E-Mail:  
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2015-03-07 
Link
Link: https:// 
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